Powder Coat accuracy load for 303 Brit Enfield

[pastorcurtis]

I've benefited from guys sharing their loads with me...finally worked up something I think is good enough to use to return the favor.

Pastor Curtis

303 Brit
Rifle: Fazakerley Enfield, 1948 vintage, wearing a sporting stock
Scope mount: ATI .303 Enfield #4, Mk1/Mk2/Mk5 Scope Mount
Scope: Simmons 9x
Bullet: Lee C312-185
Alloy: softish (WW, range scrape, whatever, drops at 185 gr)
Gas check: Hornady gas check affixed with Lee 314 sizer before powder coating. no lube used for sizing.
Powder coat: Then shake and baked with Powder by the Pound's Steele Blue 5011-s TGIC-free powder. Ice cream tub shake, 400 degrees for 20 minutes bake, then sized again with the 314 Lee push through sizer
Brass: Mixed, neck sized after fired from this rifle.
Primer: S&B Large Rifle
Powder: H4895
Charge: 29.3 grains
Velocity: 1858 fps
Accuracy: 5 shot, all hits touching group at 50 yards (this is always my goal for a good CB load...limits of my shooting skills)
Notes: Most dramatic ladder test I've ever done! Terrible group at 28.5 then it zooms right down to all touching at 29.0. Still a great group at 29.7, falling off at 30.2 but still decent. Back to terrible at 31. So I settled on 29.3 as a good middle ground that will allow me some +/- with each powder throw.

[Bloodman14]

[Les Staley]

Pastor Curtis, thanks for the info. Got all the gory details written in my cast handbook. Just got a like new UF55 A series #4 Mk 2 . Got a try that load.

[leebuilder]

I agree. Excellent post and excellent load. Only after powder coating the 185gr lee I unlocked it's full potential!. If you can, try the same with noe's 30 hunter.
Be well

[Kegcaissy]

Pastor Curtis, thanks for the info. Got all the gory details written in my cast handbook. Just got a like new UF55 A series #4 Mk 2 . Got a try that load.

Lucky guy!!

[Crash_Corrigan]

I saved your loading for my two 303's. One is a two groove LongBranch which is crying for attention at the back of my safe. The other is a sporterized version of a #4 by a company in California. I have yet to put a round thru it. So many things to do and only 24 hours in a day......

[303Guy]

Thanks for the info, pastorcurtis.

If I may ask, have you tried other powders? I'm interested because I'm thinking of trying H4895 and am wondering how it compares to other powders (and I have a few other powders).

[bstone5]

Use H4895 in 308 Win with paper patched 117 grain bullet. Shot at 200 yes with a 6 inch group.
Loaded with jacket bullet velocity. Have shot wild pigs with round all one shot kills.

Use the same bullet that is powder coated but not sized down for paper patching with a gas check,
Loaded with 10 grains of Trail Boss, shots fine out to 100 yards. My 10 year old grandson shoots the Trail Boss bullet a lot out of a Mauser 308 Win I put together.

U

[pastorcurtis]

Thanks for the info, pastorcurtis.

If I may ask, have you tried other powders? I'm interested because I'm thinking of trying H4895 and am wondering how it compares to other powders (and I have a few other powders).

I knew from other experiments that H4895 is what I wanted to use for a variety of reasons, especially its ability to be downloaded for cast bullets so effectively. I did try other powders in the first round of this experiment which started with the 308 WIN and the Lee C309-170 (same gas check and pc procedure). The accuracy load there turned out to be 32 gr H4895. Around 24.0 grains of H4227 and 30.0 grains of surplus pulled 7.62x54r powder had similar velocities, and decent accuracy, but not quite the accuracy potential I was looking for. In jacketed loads I really like Varget, but I don't find it works all that great being downloaded this far.

Pastor Curtis

[curator]

The best part of powder coating for the .303 british rifle is that it increases the diameter of the "nose-ride" portion of the boolit. 98% of the commercial boolit moulds cast the nose to small for excellent accuracy and guidance by the rifling's lands. My most accurate cast boolits for my 2-groove LEs have a nose portion that casts at .305-307". For 5-groove LEs this needs to be about .304-306". Powder coating adds another .0015 to .002 to the nose which is not sized using push-through .314-315 sizing dies. Getting that extra thousandths of bore-riding guidance really helps with accuracy. So too does a well-cast boolit of BHN 14+. For the best in accuracy, your boolit might get pulled from the case if you try to extract a loaded but unfired round. Bring a range rod with you for best results and try not to dump unburned powder into the action if you have to unload a tight one!

[pastorcurtis]

UPDATE: I tried the same load with a 311041 clone, Beagled, then sized .314. Same charge, but crimped in the top drive band to mimic the same OAL as the Lee Boolit. Same great results: .495" 5-shot group at 50 yards.

[303Guy]

Thanks for the update.

Have you tried this load at 100 yds? It would be interesting to know if the group stays in proportion.

I once got a group with a heavy, smooth side plain cast boolit of half MOA at 45 yds, seven shot (if I remember correctly) using varget. Maybe varget at reduced loads works better with heavy boolits. I would like to try my Lee 311 180 cast, powder coated. Hopefully I am getting closer to doing some testing again.

[dogmower]

one that consistently works for me is lyman 314299 sized at .314, pc with eastwood ford light blue, over 36 grains imr4350. haven't shot it at 100 yd for groups, but I can hit the 18" gong at 550 yds if I do my part.
I'd like to try the load listed here - anyone shot it at distance?

[pastorcurtis]

I've shot the 308 Win version of this load (same bullet set up, similar weight of H4895) out to 350 yards: pinging a 1/2 scale ram at will.

Planning to get that 303 out much farther this winter: gotta survive Christmas first! Will update, Lord willing and weather permitting.

Pastor Curtis

[asmith80]

That's good info! I've got some H4895 sitting around that I'm going to try this with.

So far I've had some really good luck with 18 gr. 2400 and the Accurate Molds version of the Lyman 314299, sized to .315". Since I'm not burning down any barns with this load I've been using the plain based version. Saves me time and the hassle of gas checks. Boolits are Hi-Tek coated. Average 1.5 MOA at 100 yards with iron sights. Could probably shrink that down a little if I put a scope on it

[PAT303]

A standard service rifle competition load in our club is 28grns of 2206H under a Lyman or NOE 316299 or CBE 316220 boolit, they will shoot to the accuracy of the rifle and shooter out to 300 meters.